What Money Can't Buy

There's a noteworthy absence of schadenfreud in the blogosphere tonight over the fact that poor North Korea had to settle for second place in the much-awaited world happiness sweepstakes.  Todd Buchholz is reduced to an exclamation point (followed, to be fair, by a useful discussion of "happiness indeces" in general);  the rarely-at-a-loss Tyler Cowen, to a double exclamation point.   No doubt Tyler was impressed that North Korea so so narrowly squeaked past Cuba (#3) and Venezuela (#5): we assume these laggards will regain their mojo once they get nuclear weapons and then everybody on the first team can be number one.

Proving again that money doesn't buy happiness, the United States American Empire came in 203d. No word on what it would take to overcome our competitor at 202d (not, indeed, any word as to who it is).

For a more sedate inquiry into the measuring of happiness in China, go here.

P